Nyazura, Zimbabwe – Bright fluorescent light bounces off the polished floor as Anymore Kadzunge returns for a routine check-up at the telemedicine center that helped diagnose the illness she’s been battling for months.
A 38-year-old farmer sits quietly while a nurse puts a blood pressure cuff on her arm. After a few moments, the machine beeps with an indication.
Just a few months before, Kazunge had struggled to work in the fields or prepare food for her family. She spent three months suffering from chest pains and dizziness before walking 14km (8.7 miles) from her village of Chimbondi after a friend told her about the facility.
A nurse diagnosed her with high blood pressure and connected her to a doctor via video consultation.
“The nurse checked my blood pressure, but it was extremely high,” Kazunge told Al Jazeera. “Then I spoke to the doctor via video call.”
She was diagnosed with hypertension and prescribed medication, which she continues to take daily. After a few days, her condition improved.
Bringing together doctors
Kadzunge’s experience comes as efforts grow to bring doctors closer to rural communities in Zimbabwe, where years of economic hardship have left the health system running short of drugs, equipment and health workers.
The program was launched in 2024 by ZimSmart Villages, a Zimbabwean technology and innovation organization, in partnership with NetOne, the country’s state-owned telecommunications company, and Zimbabwe Posts (Zimpost), the state-owned postal and courier service.
The program connects patients in remote communities with health professionals who provide digital consultations, reducing the need for long trips to the doctor.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Zimbabwe had 1.7 doctors for every 10,000 people in 2022, compared to the African average of 2.6.
For many rural residents, an in-person appointment with a doctor requires an expensive trip. Without the Nyazura center, Kazunge would have to travel 22 km (13.7 mi) to Rusape, a town in eastern Zimbabwe, or 70 km (43 mi) to Mutare, the capital of Manicaland province.
Ambulances are limited in many rural areas, forcing some families to transport sick relatives to medical facilities in bullock carts, a common form of rural transport.
At the Nyazura centre, registered nurse Noreen Chimanya checks patients’ vital signs, including blood pressure, blood sugar and temperature, before arranging video consultations with doctors. She also provides prescribed treatment and refers critically ill patients to hospital.
“When we opened in May 2024, telemedicine was something completely new to this community,” Cimanya told Al Jazeera. “People are used to talking to doctors in person and getting a physical exam.”
It took months of working with the community to build trust. Chimanya traveled around the surrounding villages, explaining how virtual consultations work.
“They like it here because there are no lines,” she said. “In public medical institutions, people wait for hours to be seen.”
The center uses Starlink, a satellite internet service operated by the US aerospace company SpaceX, and a backup lithium battery to maintain consultations during frequent power outages.
Salvation for rural patients
According to ZimSmart Villages, by 2026, the organization has established 28 telemedicine centers in seven of Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces and conducted more than 28,000 virtual consultations, including about 25,000 diagnostic tests.
Tawanda Njerere, the organization’s co-founder and chief operating officer, told Al Jazeera that the program was designed to create digital healthcare access points within existing post office infrastructure.
“Instead of requiring rural patients to travel 50km or more to urban health facilities, the program installs digital healthcare access points built into existing post office infrastructure,” he said.
The centers charge $2 to $10 per consultation, compared to $15 to $20 at many private clinics.
For some rural households, this difference may determine whether they seek treatment or wait.
For Proud Chimene, a shopkeeper from the nearby village of Chimene, this made treatment possible.
In July 2024, after experiencing unexplained weight loss, extreme thirst, and constant fatigue, she visited the Nezur Center.
“The situation has worsened,” Chimene told Al Jazeera. “The nurse checked my blood glucose and it was high. After talking to the doctor via video call, they put me on an IV for a few hours. He also prescribed meds, which I take twice a day.”
She was diagnosed with diabetes.
“If it wasn’t for this nearby telemedicine center that provides access to a doctor at an affordable price, I probably wouldn’t have sought treatment at all,” she said.
Nyerere said the program aims at early detection of diseases by bringing screening services closer to the communities. Digital health records and follow-up consultations also help patients manage chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.
The centers also diagnose sexually transmitted infections and refer patients who need specialized care.
Problems remain
Despite its growth, telehealth cannot replace all services provided by traditional health care facilities.
Specialist services, particularly for eye health, mental health and the management of complex chronic conditions, remain limited in Zimbabwe.
“The program addresses this through partnerships with established health care providers and specialty networks, but specialist capacity remains a systemic constraint,” Nyerere said.
In some rural communities, unfamiliarity with virtual consultations means that building trust remains an ongoing challenge.
For Kazunge, the measure of success is simple: she can return to the fields and the daily routine that the disease has deprived her of.
“I’m healthy again,” she said. “Now I can go to the farm without scaring my family.”
